Here is a picture of someone creating a traditional batik
However, for the sake of economy we are going to do an easier method to teach our children to create their own fabric. So to begin off with you need to have a muslim, or 100% non-dyed cotton fabric that you cut into squares with pinking sheers so that the edges do not fray.
Picture of beginning supplies you need- 15' X 15' muslim and large paper
Here is a picture of the designs that I drew out initially before deciding upon what to do my batik as, make sure to have the children sketch out ideas so they can do the process of elimination and critiquing their own works and ideas.
This is the final design I came up with and drew it out on the piece of paper with a sharpie so that I could see it.Have the children draw out the design that they would like to have as the 'white' of their fabric, it can be a geometric design, organic design, representational, nonrepresentational- they get to decide, or you can have them do it in a theme. Then draw their picture onto a large piece of paper.
Time to make the paste to create the paste it is 1 cup flour + 1 cup water + 1 tsp alum. You can find alum at your grocery store in the spices aisle, it's fairly common, though I never heard of it before this project. When you have created your paste make sure to mix it together thoroughly so that it doesn't have clumps and put it in a squirt bottle for the children.
Put the cloth back over the paper and line it up over the drawing so you have a visual as to where to put the paste on the cloth. Then have the children squirt the paste onto the fabric. Warning: the paste like to sometimes come out faster than you want or slower, also why it is important to mix the paste well before hand. No worries just go with the flow, I'm going to quote Bob Ross "no mistakes, just
happy accidents" with your projects!
It takes a little bit to dry the paste so be patient! When the paste is dry paint onto the fabric with tempera paint (make sure it is not washable, or it will wash out later and subside into tears). And then let the paint dry all the way also.
When the paint is dry peel off the flour paste from the fabric. It should at this time be hard and come off in nice little chunks, slowly but surely you will get to the end of it. Also don't be afraid if it doesn't turn out like you expected, sometimes it is fatter lines or thinner and it won't show up. I just chose one color to paint so you could see it easier, but children can mix up their colors easily. Just a warning the first layer that you put down is the color that will be there so mix before painting on the fabric, because that will be the color.
When you are done peeling off the paste you will need to wash the fabric in warm-hot water. When you are washing the fabric it will have some paint come off and make the colors fade. When you are done washing the fabric let it dry and then it is done!
rub a dub, dub, the fish is in the tub!
Here is the final outcome that should occur!
Here is a picture also of the original project that I created. It had a flaw where I painted a really light pink and it faded almost completely gone. I chose to do this design because not only do I love the outdoors and flowers, but I wanted it to reflect the traditional designs created in batiks.
Hope you enjoyed this and it works out in the future! And if you need another tutorial here is one at Elementary Art Education: Batik Tutorial
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